August 3, 2018

On July 26 the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame presented a major event called One Night Only: The Top 15 to honour the Top 15 Nova Scotia athletes of all time and celebrate Nova Scotia sport.

Sponsored by Scotiabank Centre and media sponsor The Chronicle Herald, One Night Only was held at the Halifax Convention Centre. Members from the Top 15 list shared their stories with event emcee and Hall of Fame CEO Bruce Rainnie. These honoured guests included the athlete voted #1 in Nova Scotia history, Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby of Cole Harbour.

The other athletes in attendance were curling legend Colleen Jones of Halifax, Hockey Hall of Famer Al MacInnis of Port Hood, Olympic medallist for canoeing Steve Giles of Lake Echo, Kayaking World Champion Karen Furneaux of Waverley, Canada’s top gymnast Ellie Black of Halifax, Paralympic gold-medallist Jamie Bone of Dartmouth, and Olympic medallist for kayaking Mark De Jonge of Halifax. International softball star Mark Smith of Halifax provided a pre-recorded message to the crowd via video.

Proceeds from the event were shared by the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame and The Sidney Crosby Foundation. The crowd of 1,200 people at the dinner experienced the once in a lifetime opportunity to see the province’s greatest athletes all share their stories at one incredible event, as well as a surprise musical performance by Nova Scotia legend Jimmy Rankin.

The Hall of Fame launched the Top 15 project in 2017 in order to honour Nova Scotia’s rich sport heritage during Canada’s 150th anniversary of confederation. A panel of sport-knowledgeable people, along with a public vote, named and ranked the 15 greatest Nova Scotia athletes of all time, who were then revealed weekly on CBC Nova Scotia from September 11 to December 18. The Top 15 athletes (in order from fifteenth to first) are: Rob McCall, Mark De Jonge, Jamie Bone, Ellie Black, Karen Furneaux, Mark Smith, Steve Giles, Aileen Meagher, Johnny Miles, George Dixon, Sam Langford, Nancy Garapick, Al MacInnis, Colleen Jones and Sidney Crosby. The Top 15 exhibit will remain on display at the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame for the rest of 2018.